The Australian Passport

November 30, 2017

Okay Aussies! For all you Australians overseas wondering about what we can and can’t do with the Australian passport then this article is for you.We went through as much information as we could find online a summarized it into this useful and easy to read blog.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) August 2017 overseas arrivals and departures report, which was a boring read but don’t worry I read it so you don’t have to, 37.7 million people crossed Australia’s borders. This is up from 21.7 million people 10 years before and the reason is cheaper airline tickets and a stronger Australian dollar.

Generally, the Australian passport is pretty good and one of the better ones to have for travelers, so let’s have a look at some facts regarding the Australian passport.

Australian Passport Ranking

As of January 1st 2017, Australian citizens can enter 170 countries visa free or get their visa on arrival. This ranks the Australian passport at number 8 but countries don’t sit in the rankings alone so there are actually 23 countries that can enter more countries than us. We can still enter those countries but we need to apply for visa before we go.

There are few different ranking indicators online so we used the most reliable which is the Henley and Partners Visa Resriction Index (HPRI) which is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom that their citizens enjoy.

The top 10 passports for travelers with number of countries no visa required.

So, at the end of the day the Germans can travel to 7 more countries than Australians. That’s not such a big deal. Australia is climbing up the ranks because in 2010 we could only visit 157 countries.

Visa Required Please!

We are lucky that we can travel to 169 countries without applying for a visa. This gives us a huge amounts of freedom when traveling because we can leave at a whim and go to so many places. Due to this strike of good fortune it’s easier to look at the countries we DO needs a visa for.

Australian he Australian Passport | Okay Aussies! For all you Australians abroad wondering what we can and can’t do with the Australian passport then this article is for you. Know your visa rights. In The UK

There are a huge number of Australians in the UK. In fact, the UK is the most populace place for Australians outside of Australia with over 400,000 Australians in the UK. So, let’s explore the facts about the Australian passport in the UK.

Australian passport holders can enter the UK as a tourist without a visa and remain there for up to 6 months. In some cases they may need to prove sufficient funds.

If you apply to extend your visa from within the UK you will need to pay an Immigration Health Surcharge.

Australians aged 18-30 years old that are planning to work in th UK should apply before they leave Australia for a 2-year working holiday visa.

Australians born before 1983 and qualify for the Right of Abode are able to live, work and study in the UK unconditionally.

If you have a grandparent that was born in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man before 31.03.22 then you can apply for UK Ancestry Entry Clearance which enables you to work in the UK for up to 5 years and option to apply to stay on after that period.

Australian Passport In Europe

There are a massive amounts of Australians in continental Europe numbering over 100,000. Most continental Europe is part of the Schengen area which was established to allow border less travel. The Schengen area encompasses 26 countries excluding Britain, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Romania and Ireland.

Australians can enter and travel within the Schengen area for up 90 days within a 6-month period. If you leave the Schengen area then you must get an exit stamp on your passport otherwise the 90-day time period keeps ticking on.

We have visa waiver agreements with the following countries: Austria, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. This means that Australians can visit these counties visa free for up to 3 months in each country. However, if you go to a country not on this list and you have already been in Europe for over 90 days in a 6-month period then they will consider you overstayed.

During the visa exemption period, Australian citizens are permitted to work in Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia and Sweden.

If you want to stay longer you will needs a national long stay ‘D’ visa and/or resident permit.

Australians can stay up to 90 days in the Republic of Ireland if they do not work, do not register a marriage, have sufficient funds, intend to leave and have completed a landing card.

Other Facts

Australians can work and reside in New Zealand indefinitely as long as they have no criminal record or tuberculosis.

Many countries require a minimum of 6 months validity on passports for visa and 1-2 blank pages.

Australian citizens are allowed to hold passports for other countries.

There You Have It

We hope you found this blog useful. Remember it’s for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. All information was up to date at time of writing but we recommend you do some of your own research to be sure. If you have any useful information to add for the Ozzies Abroad community then get vocal in the comments section below.

4 Replies to “The Australian Passport”

I’m an Aussie abroad (currently in the Philippines) and this is good information to know. I knew we could enter a few countries without a visa, but I didn’t know it was as many as 170. Out of the countries that we do need a visa for, I don’t think I’d want to visit most of those anyway.

This is a really great article. Sounds like the Oz passport holds a bit of power. I hadn’t heard of the UK Ancestry Entry Clearance before. My grandfather was English, but I’m not sure what year he was born.